Photo courtesy of Philstar

The Philippines has experienced a decline in its perceived public sector integrity, ranking 120th out of 182 on the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) by Transparency International. This marks a fall of six spots from 2024, attributed to the fallout from a significant corruption scandal involving flood control projects. The nation’s score dropped to 32, its lowest since 2012, placing it ahead of only Cambodia and Myanmar in Southeast Asia.

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The recent scandal involves allegations of multibillion-peso corruption in government infrastructure projects. Several cases are underway, with more resolutions anticipated soon. The situation prompted the administration to address past governance issues, with President Marcos highlighting these anomalies as part of a broader initiative to tackle corruption.

Malacañang acknowledged the CPI decline, linking it to President Marcos’ exposure of these issues. Transparency International reported a global decrease in the average CPI score to 42, the first decline in over ten years. The report highlighted a concerning global trend of worsening perceived corruption in democracies, including the United States, Canada, and the UK.

In a bid to enhance transparency, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) launched a blockchain initiative. This project aims to prevent future corruption by creating traceable and auditable records, with the potential to set a precedent for transparent governance.

Looking forward, the administration plans to focus on economic recovery, following the shelving of impeachment cases against President Marcos. There is a continued emphasis on holding accountable those involved in corruption and avoiding past mistakes, with the new blockchain system as a pivotal tool in this effort, reported Philstar.

Key Takeaways

• The Philippines dropped to 120th on the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index.

• Recent scandals have prompted new transparency measures, including blockchain use.

• President Marcos is prioritizing economic recovery alongside anti-corruption efforts.

Join the discussion?

  Adapted by ASEAN Now · Philstar · 13 Feb 2026

Not surprising but as the DWPH (some of its own) is mainly responsible for the huge fraud (bungs) & their own staff in the flood control projects that could amount to billions if not trillions of peso (depending how long it's been going on for) surprised they haven't shut it down & start again from scratch

22 hours ago, phil2407 said:

Not surprising but as the DWPH (some of its own) is mainly responsible for the huge fraud (bungs) & their own staff in the flood control projects that could amount to billions if not trillions of peso (depending how long it's been going on for) surprised they haven't shut it down & start again from scratch

I agree with your sentiment; might help with the perception. But people need to go to jail. Finances, where the source cannot be proven, recovered and redirected into the projects they were earmarked for. And start at the top, not at the bottom, of the pyramid. Show the populace that corruption doesn't work and there are consequences.

Prety much zero chance of eliminating corruption of course; even countries with good scores have corruption. But it's not likely to be so obvious as is in the Philippines, or Thailand.